Annie's Issues
by happeyNesS
Summary: Auggie has come to expect Annie to come to him with her issues. And when she doesn't, he goes to her instead.


Annie Walker leaned back in her chair and sighed. It was getting close to quitting time… but she still had a lot to get done. She glared at the stack of papers sitting on her desk. There seemed to be a lull in the action… here she was, filling out paperwork, though for what, she wasn't entirely sure. Sighing again, she shoved the stack away from her, allowing her head to fall to rest in her hands.

"Why the long face?" came a voice from behind her. A very familiar, low, gruff voice. Annie turned in her chair to look at the speaker.

Auggie Anderson stood in the doorway to her office, leaning casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, his electronic cane clasped lightly in one hand.

Annie immediately responded, "Everything's fine, Auggie" in what she hoped was a cheerful voice.

Auggie walked towards the sound of her voice, feeling around a bit before leaning against her desk, arms still crossed. "Yeah?"

Annie groaned, "Okay , so everything's not ok…" She angled her head so that she could see him.

Auggie waited.

He waited some more.

Annie directed a small smile at him, but of course he couldn't see it. Sometimes, simply irritating Auggie was enough to brighten her day. Auggie exhaled heavily, "Annie, are you going to tell me what's wrong, or not?"

"No, I'm feeling better now… thanks, Auggie," she answered with a smile.

Aggie wouldn't accept that. Annie always came to him with her problems, but today, he hadn't heard from her at all except for a brief hello that morning. So, he had gone in search of her and her issues. But Annie wasn't doing her job. She wasn't ranting at him.

He directed a grin at her, raising a hand in her direction. "In that case, what do you say to a couple of drinks?" Auggie and Annie had developed a tradition of sorts of going out for a couple drinks every Friday after work. It was a time to wind down, relax, and get ready for the weekend, though it was usually interrupted one way or another by Joan, needing their expertise on something.

Annie glanced at the pile sitting on her desk, and then at Auggie's hand. There was no competition. She gathered her car keys from her pocket. Auggie grinned in response, tilting his head at the rattling.

Annie lightly took his hand, squeezing gently as she stood up. "Okay, Auggie…" She turned off the light in her office before exiting, Auggie less than a step behind her. "I guess I'm driving, huh?" She joked lightly.

Auggie smirked. "That would be for the best."

They bantered lightly with each other as Annie led Auggie to her car. The ride to the tavern continued in much the same manner.

When they arrived, Annie led him to their usual spot, dropping his hand on his chair so he could seat himself. "Are we eating, too?" she asked him, seating herself down in the chair opposite him.

"Why? Are you hungry?" Auggie answered her, leaning back in his chair, folded hands lying on his stomach.

Annie shrugged. "Yeah, a little. I didn't eat lunch."

"Well, in that case, we must get something." Auggie closed his eyes, a habit he had when he was looking something up in the back of his mind. He opened them, and they seemed to land right on Annie. She had to stifle her gasp. He didn't seem to notice. "Nachos to share okay?"

"Yeah." Running a hand threw her hair, Annie glanced around the tavern for anyone they knew. "Hey, Jai is here… should I invite him over?"

"Let's not and say we did." Auggie quipped. "And it's fine."

Startled, Annie directed her gaze back at him. "What is?"

"Your hair. It looks fine."

Annie smiled at him. "And how do you know?"

"It's a skill."

"Or you're just trying to distract me from Jai."

"I'm upset that you would think that of me." He placed a hand over his heart, mocking a scene from far ago, when he still had his sight.

Annie leaned over to give him a shove. "Yeah, right."

He grinned.

The waitress finally arrived, apologizing quite profusely for the wait, and they placed their order. Their drinks arrived in under a minute. Jai arrived in three.

"Hey… what are you doing here?" Jai set himself up right behind Annie's chair, leaning over her, forcing her to lean back to look up at him.

"Oh, um…" came Annie's extremely thought out response.

"Drinking." Auggie's expression had tightened his voice hardening. His hand clenched around his drink. "And you're not invited. So leave."

"Auggie!" Annie scolded. Tilting her head so that she could see Jai again, she spoke softly, "Sorry Jai, but this is like a tradition for Auggie and me, so I'm afraid you can't join us." She glared at Auggie, giving him a look as if to say, 'There, happy?'

It took about five more minutes for Jai to be dismissed, and then about three more for the nachos to arrive. Annie grinned excitedly at the sight of tortilla chips piled high with almost every topping possible.

She grabbed Auggie's hand from where it was resting next to his drink. "The nachos are here." She placed his hand on the edge of the plate. Feeling her duty done, she dug in with fervor.

Auggie sat without eating for several seconds, simply listening to Annie's pleasured grunts as she munched on the chips. When he did reach to grab one, his hand collided with hers, sending a charge up his arm. She simply reached for another chip, but Auggie wasn't so quick to ignore it. He always took note of the little things that occurred between him and Annie.

When the nachos had disappeared from the plate, as well as the drinks from their glasses, did Auggie finally bring up the topic that Annie had been trying to evade. "So, Annie Walker." He leaned forward over his clasped hands. "You're going to explain what had you so worked up today."

Annie laughed. "No, Auggie Anderson, I don't think I will. I'm quite content now that I'm with you." She stopped. She hadn't meant to let that out.

Auggie ignored her slip. "You're not leaving until we talk about it." He was quite used to her coming to him to talk about the day's issues. It was weird when she didn't. And he didn't like weird.

Annie pouted at him. "I can leave whenever I want. Whether or not you come is up to you."

"Annie, please. I don't like not knowing what's bothering you."

Annie sighed. She looked into Auggie's eyes, which were looking straight ahead as always. They glittered in the lighting, but she knew that he couldn't see anything. His posture was tense. She reached across to lay a hand on his jacket clad shoulder. "I'll tell you on the way home."

They quickly paid, Auggie looking none too happy when she paid for everything.

Wrapping her hand around his arm, she led him to her car. When the car was on, and they were en route to Auggie's apartment, Annie began to speak. "It's honestly not a lot. I was just frustrated."

Leaning his head back against the head rest, Auggie asked her, "About what?"

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She hadn't wanted to tell him, because she didn't want to sound like she was wining, but… "I don't like sitting behind a desk all day. I miss field work." She admitted.

"Ha. Me too."

After he had been dropped off, he had sat down on his bed. Sometimes, Annie Walker really surprised him. But then, thinking back on the sound of her eating her dinner, sometimes, she really didn't.


End file.
